1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to telecommunications, and more particularly, to billing toll-free telephone calls that are transferred to a secondary telecommunications carrier.
2. Background Information
When billing for a toll-free telephone number, the switching service point (SSP) handling the toll-free telephone call queries a switching control point (SCP) to determine where (i.e. which terminating telephone number) to route the toll-free telephone call. The SCP returns routing instructions to the SSP as to how the toll-free call is to be routed. The SSP then routes the telephone call to the telephone number indicated by the SCP. Upon the telephone call being answered at the terminating telephone number location, the SSP maintains information including the calling party telephone number, the terminating telephone number, how long the telephone call lasts, and the toll-free telephone number. This information is used when billing the toll-free telephone number holder for the charges incurred on their toll-free telephone number.
In some circumstances, the toll-free telephone call is transferred from the terminating telephone number to another toll-free telephone number, which may be administered by a secondary telecommunications carrier. When this occurs, billing by the secondary telecommunications carrier is also required. Thus, although multiple call detail records are created (one for each leg of the call), the primary telecommunications carrier need only bill for the portion of the call that was connected from the caller to the termination point over the primary carrier's network. The present invention is directed to solving one or more of the problems discussed above.